Harbaughs Share Admiration for Anquan Boldin

The Harbaugh brothers agree, Anquan Boldin is the ultimate football player.

Both John and Jim Harbaugh agree, Anquan Boldin is one of the best football players in the NFL.

Boldin, San Francisco’s leading wide receiver, helped John’s Baltimore Ravens win a Super Bowl in 2012 and was quickly traded to Jim’s 49ers team prior to the 2013 season.

Now that Baltimore is out of the playoffs and San Francisco is set for a Wild Card game in Green Bay, the Ravens head coach acknowledged just how much the veteran receiver meant to his team’s success.

Baltimore unloaded Boldin and the remaining year on his contract to San Francisco for a sixth-round draft pick. The Ravens used the money to sign multiple veterans on defense, but could not replace Boldin’s offensive production and leadership.

“It is what it is; it’s a fact,” John Harbaugh said earlier this week at his end of the season press conference.

Meanwhile, Boldin continues to play meaningful football with the 49ers.

The Harbaugh brothers have long shared a dialogue on how good of a talent Boldin is in his 11th season.

“Anquan Boldin is a football player,” Jim Harbaugh said of the 49ers receiver, who recorded his sixth career 1,000-yard season in his first year in the Bay Area. “Let me say it again, Anquan Boldin is a football player. And, that sums up everything. That’s the highest compliment you could give somebody that plays the game of football.”

San Francisco’s coach certainly knew the type of player he was getting after Boldin caught six passes for 104 yards and one touchdown in Super Bowl XLVII. It also helped that his older brother gave a glowing recommendation after the 49ers-Ravens trade.

“My brother John said, ‘You will love Anquan Boldin. You will love the way he practices. He’ll take every rep. You’ll love the way he competes and plays in the game and the plays that he’ll make and the plays that he’ll make in the big games and you’ll just love being around him.’

In addition to the on-field production, Jim Harbaugh has appreciated the all-business attitude from Boldin.

“I love his personality, serious about winning,” the 49ers coach said. “Serious about being really good. He comes to work, he goes home, he comes back to work and kicks (tail) day after day. I love it.”

In his first year with the 49ers, Boldin started all 16 games and caught 85 passes for 1,179 receiving yards and seven touchdown passes. The 2013 season was Boldin's first 80-catch and 1,000-yard season since 2009, his final season with the Arizona Cardinals.